Pairs
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: Things are better when you talk them over with someone else. Each chapter contains a different pair, trying to make sense of life by talking it through.
1. Thunder on the Inside

Disclaimer: own nothing, apologies.  
  
THUNDER ON THE INSIDE  
  
Everything had changed  
  
Lance sighed and rested on his elbow as he sat in one of the numerous crumby diners he inevitably ended up in on the road. His burger was late as always. He didn't mind usually but tonight he was hungry. He had a lot on his mind which was evident in the way he drummed his fingers on the plastic table in front of him. He raked a hand through his bristle short hair. Things were itching in the back of his mind. He felt like he was being sucked in somewhere.  
  
"Hey there Thunder" a joking voice sounded behind him  
  
Lance didn't bother to even half turn, knowing who it was. Only one person called him Thunder  
  
"Sit down Jericho if you're intending to be constructive"  
  
With his TV smirk still in place for the benefit of those watching, Chris Jericho slid into the seat opposite Lance and pulled the baseball cap off which covered his bright blonde hair. Tossing it onto the table with barely a glance, his smirk dropped to be replaced by a jaded concerned look. Lance didn't have to look up to know the way Jericho was looking at him. He had shared more hotel rooms, tour buses and assorted cramped living conditions with the man sat opposite him. He could predict the way Jericho would act before he actually did anything.  
  
"Traveling sucks at the moment huh?" Jericho commented, stretching his legs out under the table.  
  
"Indeed"  
  
There was no need for anything else. They both knew what was on the other's mind.  
  
Two beautiful women who tore their worlds apart  
  
Jericho focused on the table when suddenly a waitress who made no pretence of being perky but was refreshingly rude dumped a platter of food on the table and stalked off without a word. Lance watched her leave  
  
"Doesn't cost anything to smile" he muttered as he began to dig into his greasy food  
  
Jericho raised his eyebrows to indicate his amusement at his former tag team partner's comment. It seemed to him that some things never changed. He chanced reaching out a hand to steal some fries but Lance smacked it sharply away.  
  
"Worth a try I guess" joked Jericho half-heartedly  
  
"As always, ask first" reprimanded Lance  
  
He looked at Jericho intently. His fellow Canadian wore large square sheer brown sunglasses in an attempt to gain a little anominity with his tangled blonde tresses tied back out of the way. Instead of the garish glittering ring gear he was associated with, he wore black jeans and a Fozzy t-shirt under a leather jacket. Lance allowed a small smile to enter his face. This was Jericho down to his bare bones. Barely anyone else saw him in the same light. Lance had been the only one up until a month or so ago. Everyone else saw Jericho as an egotistical sadistic asshole, which in truth he was to most of the world but somehow since things had changed recently, since a certain beautiful blonde Canadian had got under his skin, he had come back to the way he was before, when Lance had known him all that time ago. Lance knew it was just Jericho's emotional mask he had worn. Jericho knew that in order to get somewhere in the business he had to stop being the good guy, the one adored by fans and loved backstage but rather be the one no one wanted to share a locker room with because that was the type Vince Mcmahon and Eric Bischoff both approved of. And those with approval for the title shots  
  
"Have you spoken to her yet?" Lance asked, scooping up more fries with his hands and finally offering a small handful to his friend  
  
"Haven't you seen me try? every time I do she throws it back in my face" Jericho said, his words laced with pain and anger "I just......keep trying and every time I do she backs away, did you see the look on her face tonight? When I rescued her from Jazz? She looked like she'd seen her worst ever fear, made me feel like I was doing the wrong thing by helping her out"  
  
"Did you do the wrong thing by rescuing her the first time?"  
  
Jericho allowed his mind to go back to that time. When Steven Richards and Victoria had tried to break her body. There was no one else, Lita was tied up dealing with Molly and Gail. There had been nobody around willing to help her. He could not have stayed backstage and allowed it to happen, not to mention the inroad he could make for a certain bet. He shook his head  
  
"No, that was absolutely the right thing to do"  
  
"As it was tonight, don't be so hard on yourself" Lance admonished as he began on his burger "she had her heart broken by you remember"  
  
"That was all Christian's fault!" hot anger was in his words now  
  
"You agreed to the bet as well"  
  
"Don't remind me"  
  
It had been so stupid. Christian had decided that a fun way to pass the time would be to bet who could get a diva into bed first - him or Jericho? Christian had picked Trish for Jericho and Lita for himself. Unfortunately, Bischoff had found out about it very soon afterwards and had said that it was an excellent idea and whoever did it first would get a substantial reward. He couldn't stand either diva since they'd both turned him down. So as soon as the cameras were on and Christian started talking about the bet, Chris had to go along with, acting as though it was all for a crummy bet.  
  
It had begun that way but then he began to see her differently. The way she was so independent and had fought her way up the women's roster which hadn't been made easy for her. The admiration he'd had for her before the bet slowly blossomed into something more but then it was too late. He'd tried as hard as he could to apologize but Trish was having none of it, utterly furious with him.  
  
He looked up to see Lance finishing off his burger.  
  
"So my life basically sucks, how's your's?" Jericho asked  
  
"Interesting" was all Lance offered  
  
"Interesting how?"  
  
"I think" Lance paused as he considered his answer carefully "I think I am falling in love"  
  
Jericho looked at him carefully for a few minutes, scrutinizing him with ice blue eyes before nodding  
  
"Ok, you think you're falling in love, who's the lucky lady?"  
  
"I am not permitted to say"  
  
"Christ Lance, it's me! I won't say a word, you know I won't"  
  
"Perhaps but this time, I shall remain silent on the matter"  
  
Jericho looked at him again and a slow grin crept over his face as he slowly realized.  
  
"Its Miss Jackie isn't it?" he said triumphantly "you've fallen for that plastic chick!"  
  
"I'd prefer it if you were a little more complimentary" interjected Lance a little offended "but yes, since you have guessed correctly, it is Miss Jackie, she reminds me of Dawn"  
  
"Junior, you have got to get over Dawn......." Jericho began before Lance waved his words away  
  
"This is not about Dawn" Lance corrected "we were never anything but friends, we merely had a special connection which allowed us to feel as though we were more, no Dawn and I are completely fine, I spoke to her last night, asked her about it, if it was ok with her and since she has a new man in her life, she gave her blessing"  
  
"I never would have thought it" said Jericho, grinning "you and Miss Jackie? Well it's a thought"  
  
"She is what I want" Lance replied "I shall wait and see what her reactions are, ever since Rico seemed intent on defeating Venis and we were both at ringside, there was something inside of me that awoke when she looked across the ring at me"  
  
Jericho smiled and ate the fries in his hands absent mindedly. It sounded like the perfect remedy to him. He and Lance had kept their close friendship pretty secret. Most insiders knew they had trained and traveled the indies together and even been tag team partners but they also thought that they had split as a team and had been enemies ever since. It allowed them a little scope to have someone who knew who they really were. Jericho had no problem working for Bischoff, loved the benefits and didn't mind the fans despising him. Lance had taken the same root though they'd made sure to keep apart from the one time they teamed up in a combined effort to try and get rid of Goldberg. The friendship allowed them a little time to vent their feelings and be with someone who truly understood them.  
  
In this business you needed it.  
  
"She's changed you" Lance commented  
  
A funny half-pleased smile crossed Jericho's face.  
  
"Really? How?"  
  
"In your demeanor, you've just changed"  
  
"Good? Bad?"  
  
"Good, if you let others see how you'd changed then maybe someone other than me would notice"  
  
Jericho smirked and allowed himself to think about Trish again and how much better she made him feel.  
  
"Maybe so but I like it better this way"  
  
"Chris dude, come on ditch the loser and lets go" an irritable voice sounded behind him  
  
Chris blinked and then scooped up the baseball cap, settling it firmly on his head again. He got to his feet to stand beside Christian who was looking pretty annoyed. Things hadn't been so rosy between them recently since Christian saw nothing wrong in throwing Lita aside like a piece of meat while Chris most definitely did though only Lance knew how much. They weren't on the same page any more though. Just riding partners, tag team partners and sharing a locker room since it suited their purpose to be a team  
  
"I'll catch you around Thunder" said Chris with a final smirk  
  
He wheeled around to walk beside Christian. As he walked through the dinner he could see it was heavily populated by tired WWE stars. For a second he saw sunlight bright hair and a flash of red and white jersey but when he tried looking a second time, he saw nothing. The mind plays funny tricks when you're tired and yearning.  
  
"Come one dude, got more chicks to inject with Vitamin C" enthused Christian, clapping him on the back as they reached the car  
  
Jericho smiled though his mind was only on one person. He wondered if she'd let him talk to her. He looked up at Lance and thought about Lance's words. In love with Miss Jackie? He laughed to himself. Leave it to Lance to fall for the most unexpected inappropriate woman possible. Love was funny though. With a rueful smile, he slipped into the front seat of the rental and looked at the stars for answers. 


	2. I Miss You

Disclaimer: own nothing as per usual. Thanks for the reviews; I aim to make these chapters as different as I can. I don't know if they'll all end happily or angsty. Mostly they'll be a mixture coz wherever there's angst, there's hope :- )  
  
I MISS YOU  
  
Hot anger coursed through him as he stormed back to his dressing room. Rey Mysterio, usually smiling as he bounded his way to and from the Gorilla position, was looking decidedly angry. In fact, he was scowling. Right in the heart of Guerrero country, he'd lost his precious Cruiserweight Championship to that slime Chavo Guerrero Jnr. Talk about the last straw, everything else seemed to be hitting rock bottom as well in his life. To cap it all off, he was alone and apart from him, the love of his life. At least Guerrero hadn't ripped off his mask though he had tried to during the match. Rey fondly the touched the piece of headgear that brushed his jaw line. He'd had enough of wrestling mask-less in WCW after losing to Kevin Nash. It was part of who he was; his identity.  
  
Sighing, he pushed open his locker room door. Jorge had headed for the medics for some ice packs for the pair of them and would be returning soon. Rey just wanted a few minutes to gather himself and come to terms with the fact that he'd lost his title. It took him a few moments to realise that someone else was sat in his locker room, with an ice pack pressed to the back of her neck.  
  
"What do I owe this honour Nidia?" he asked, formally as he turned to greet the petite toned diva who sat relaxed in a steel chair  
  
Nidia shrugged, wincing and readjusting the ice-pack  
  
"Felt like coming where I knew there'd be a friendly face but it looks like I wasted my time" she replied, her eyes sparkling  
  
It was Rey's turn to shrug now. He didn't really want to talk even though he liked the Tough Enough champion well enough, she was a little extreme for his taste but her heart was usually in the right place. He just wanted to be alone so he could be miserable without him. No one knew how he felt.  
  
"Just annoyed at losing, and to that scum Chavo" he muttered, grabbing a towel "he's been taking things too far lately"  
  
"I know how that feels"  
  
Rey paused and turned back to look at Nidia properly. The expression on her face was of pure disappointment, misery and sadness. He'd forgotten how much she'd been through lately. Blinded by Tajiri's mysterious mist and then taken advantage of by her so-called boyfriend Jamie Noble. Then she'd revealed that her blindness had gone before challenged Jamie to a match for No Way Out in which he'd be blindfolded. Everyone but the referee had seen Jamie cheat and then win the match. Nidia had been duped out of her deserved victory for the weeks of humiliation and misery Jamie had put her through. Put his own problems in perspective though it also made him think of them more.  
  
"Not doing so good then" Rey asked gently, forgetting most of his anger  
  
Nidia pressed her lips together and shook her head. Things had been very hard for her. She'd loved Jamie with all her heart but now? She didn't know what to do. There was nowhere for her to turn and she'd known for a while that Rey had been helping her as best he could. Sighing she dropped the ice pack onto the floor and ran a hand through her wild curly mass of hair.  
  
"Just don't know where to go" she sighed "I mean I came here with Jamie and without him, I feel like I'm back to being that kid who won Tough Enough, just a green again"  
  
"You're so much more and you know that chica, you can fight in the ring and the fans love you"  
  
"But will they love me if I'm alone? I mean Torrie had to do Playboy to get properly noticed"  
  
"You think you'll have to do that?"  
  
"I don't want to but if that's what it takes to stay in the business then I will"  
  
She looked so determined. Rey smiled. It was tough since she'd come into the business as green as can be with only a TV show's worth of training behind her but she'd made the best of what she had. She'd established herself as a tough in-ring opponent and had almost certainly erased the fact from people's minds that she'd been part of Tough Enough in the first place.  
  
"Thanks for helping me Rey" she said quietly, lifting her head to look him in the eyes "you didn't have to and I appreciate it, I don't know what Jamie would have done if you hadn't been there"  
  
Rey shrugged again, embarrassed under his mask. It had definitely been the right thing to do.  
  
"Hate to see a lady in trouble" he muttered  
  
"Lady? No one else thinks I'm a lady Rey" giggled Nidia "I'm just trailor park trash to all of them, but who cares? Who cares if I'm this way? This is me, this is me with no faking like Torrie doing her little innocent girl act, this is me"  
  
"I see what others don't"  
  
"Oh through your little bird contact lenses?"  
  
"Something like that"  
  
There was a silence as they smiled at each other, the atmosphere decidedly calm and friendly despite the fact that both had lost their matches that night at the PPV. Rey sat down opposite Nidia and offered her a bottled drink.  
  
"Thanks, geez where am I gonna go now? I could go back to developmentals and maybe find a new guy there"  
  
"You think that's the answer to your problems?"  
  
"It worked for me last time"  
  
Rey smiled. Ever since he'd arrived on Smackdown, he'd known Nidia. She was loud and sweet, obviously adoring Jamie and doing what he thought best while showing she could fight alone as well. Even without Jamie, she was just Nidia. She thought she needed a man to define herself by? In his eyes, she was Nidia plain and simple.  
  
"You are who you are chica; you've never been anything different to me"  
  
Nidia blinked some glassy tears away as she smiled at her friend.  
  
"I'm glad it was you who saved me out there before" she blurted out  
  
"Why?"  
  
"The guys....well they know how I am.....how much I like men and they'd only come out to save me if they thought they could get something from me but you did it because you wanted to"  
  
Rey nodded, leaning back as he did. It was true that Nidia did have a reputation for being pretty loose when it came to guys. Jamie had allowed it because she always came back to him in the end and that was what mattered to her. Now she had nothing.  
  
"So anyway, how are you feeling?" Nidia asked, trying to appear more cheerful "are you gonna go after Chavo?"  
  
"I hope so" Rey replied, eyes narrowing "have you seen the way he's been treating Eddie? That man is a legend in Mexico; you should treat your elders with respect"  
  
"But how do you feel about the match and everything?" Nidia persisted "I mean you have lost your belt and all"  
  
"Honestly? Pretty down, I love being a champion and I think I do it pretty well but then you have someone like Chavo who likes to lie, cheat and steal and I end up losing"  
  
"It's tough huh?"  
  
"Oh hell yeah, all that time working to earn this name, my uncle's name and I get blocked everywhere because of my size and I finally get here, the WWE, the big time and I lose my belt to that idiot"  
  
"You've got to learn to roll with the punches" Nidia replied earnestly "I mean you may be down one week, but then next week, top of the world if you're lucky"  
  
Rey nodded, silently. He was very quiet and in Nidia's eyes was keeping something back. She could see it in the way he twisted the towel round his fingers.  
  
"Rey-Rey are you hiding something from me?" she asked in a purposely playful tone  
  
"Maybe"  
  
"Then spill, it'll make you feel better I promise"  
  
Rey sighed. He didn't tell people what he felt inside often because it meant spilling his guts which always made him feel bad. But Nidia deserved to know, she was being so patient with him while she was going through her own hell  
  
"I guess I just miss Edge" his words like smoky breaths escaping his lips, his emotions squeezing out painfully  
  
"Oh Rey, why didn't you tell me? I understand that....."  
  
"I just don't get to see him so much since he's at home and I'm travelling so much, I only get to see him when we're in Canada" Rey continued  
  
"Hey, he's your boyfriend, you are allowed to miss him" Nidia said firmly "I mean, I'd worry if you didn't miss him you know?"  
  
"I know"  
  
"Doesn't make it any easier me saying that but think about it, he's started working off ring rust right? So it's only a matter of time"  
  
"You'd think that but something's wrong with his foot, he's got it in a soft cast so it's another set-back keeping me from him"  
  
Nidia got up and wrapped comforting arms around him. Rey didn't move; talking about it had brought it completely home to home. In a way it freed him from the whole inner-monologue trap but now the pain was more real, he could feel it sharply  
  
"You listen to me Rey, lets head out tonight, have some fun" Nidia said as she sat down again "It couldn't hurt, I think we both need the company"  
  
"Guess we do don't we?"  
  
"And then tomorrow when we've arrived at Louisiana, I'm taking you into the city for some shopping, we can buy something for Edge and send it off for him to let him know you're thinking of him" Nidia smiled at him "I bet you don't tell him on the phone that you miss him"  
  
"No, makes it all seem worse since he can't be here to make it better"  
  
"That's settled then"  
  
Nidia got to her feet and Rey noticed for the first time her tee shirt. It was pastel pink with a large glitter heart on and LOVE painted on in the middle of it. It made him smile.  
  
"I'll come by the girls locker room in say half an hour?" he suggested, already feeling more energised  
  
"Sure thing"  
  
Nidia bent down and gently kissed him on the cheek before walking out of the room, the ice pack still to her neck. Rey grinned; she thought she was nothing without Jamie? She was something alright. That reminded him. He pulled his cell-phone out of his bag and speed dialled a number. Maybe it was time to be honest  
  
"Edge? Hey it's me......" 


	3. Absence

Disclaimer: own nothing. This pair just popped into my head. I hope it makes sense.  
  
ABSENCE  
  
"You're not really gonna leave are you?"  
  
The man at the bar didn't even respond but continued to stare at the empty glass sitting in front of him. The question-asker sighed and sat down on the next stool. A bartender weighed down with a tiredness that was reflected in his flat grey eyes slowly approached, raising his eyebrows in the question of what drink the newcomer would like.  
  
"The meathead'll have the same again" the newcomer gestured to the silent man at the bar "and I'll have your best beer on tap"  
  
After the bartender had moved away to fix their drinks, the man at the bar finally turned his head to take in the man beside him with glassy eyes. He hadn't been dreaming when he'd heard the voice.  
  
"What do you want Rock?" his voice was a visceral growl  
  
"For you to tell me about the decision you're making, no one else cares so I'm going to" The Rock replied, accepting the bottle the barman passed to him "you're not talking to anyone else about it"  
  
"There's a reason for that"  
  
"That you're a hugely unfriendly bastard who'd rather go under a rock than talk to anyone, let alone open up?"  
  
"Ha fucking ha"  
  
Silence descended on the pair again and Rock took in the man beside him, a hulking figure in blue jeans and a leather jacket with his logo on the back. There was something distinctly threatening in his posture, like he was going to explode any moment. He didn't have the best reputation following his phenomenal run in WCW before it shut down. He had been its premier star, the one that everyone had tuned in to watch.  
  
"So where to now? Back to the NFL?" Rock tried again  
  
"Don't know" the man replied, eyes fixed on his fresh drink "anywhere but here"  
  
"Are you outta your mind? You want out of the WWE? The one place where you can build a reputation – a good one mind you and make big bucks? Where to now Goldberg? The indies? The TNA or Ring of Honour? There ain't no place for you out there, out there you're washed up"  
  
Goldberg slowly turned his gaze on the man beside him. The Rock didn't flinch at all. He was dressed in fitted black jeans and a black t-shirt, his bronzed skin seeming to glow in the dim light. At around 30 yrs old, he'd accomplished more than most veterans in the wrestling business. He'd won the WWE title more than six times, he'd helped carry the company at the end of the attitude years with Triple H as they locked horns for supremacy, he'd tagged with Mick Foley, he'd said what most people were afraid to say and he'd made movies.  
  
"What the hell do you know?" Goldberg replied, his eyes on fire "you were born in this business, you haven't known anything else, now I was promised the top when I came here, now I'm just above the midcard, that is not where I want to be, its not where I'm paid to be, its no fun anymore"  
  
"What do I know? I've taken time out to make movies, I've had the critics at my door since I was in 'The Mummy Returns', saying that I was gonna quit and be in the movies full time, I told them no the WWE is my heart, it's where I'll always return to" Rock testified "I've had the knocks, have you even seen any of my early stuff?"  
  
"You don't know me Rock so just leave me the fuck alone" Goldberg warned "you're the last person I want to discuss this with"  
  
"Oh because you knocked me on my ass when you debuted here? More power to you, if you've got the balls to do that to the Great One then I'm more than willing to give you a chunk of the spotlight"  
  
Goldberg snorted and knocked back more of his drink.  
  
"If it's all the same to you Rock, I'm still gonna leave, it's what I need to do, if I'm not happy here then I'm not doing Vince justice am I?"  
  
"You're not doing any more justice to him by leaving after he spent all that cash on you"  
  
"Look Rock" he said the name like it was poison "I don't have to do what you think is right, this is my life and its been a hell of ride in the wrestling business, I'm leaving on a high after wrestling that piece of shit Brock at Wrestlemania"  
  
"Didn't you hear the chants during your match?"  
  
"I chose to ignore them, fans should have more respect"  
  
"Fans can do what the hell they want! It's their show, we listen to them and give them what they want, they like it electrifying, violent, sexy and unbelievable, here at the WWE we listen to them, why not swerve them and stay?"  
  
Goldberg cracked a smile and turned on his stool so that he faced Rock.  
  
"Here's to all my yesterdays Rock" he said, raising his glass "here's to WCW and all my fucking mistakes, here's to the WWE and the money I've cost Vince and here's to the future"  
  
Downing the glass, he got up and stood, surprisingly steady for the amount of drinks he'd consumed that night.  
  
"My decision Rock" he pressed a thumb to his chest for emphasis "I'm taking control for the first time since football"  
  
"You were in control on WCW"  
  
"Eric called the shots, you know that, I couldn't get out even if I had wanted to, the crowds when they're cheering; they're like a drug, you have to keep going back for more and more until you're drowning in it" Goldberg grinned "no more, I'm going cold turkey, I'm leaving"  
  
He held out a hand to the Rock who shook it firmly  
  
"Have a nice life Rock, I'll be watching at home"  
  
"See you down the road Bill"  
  
Halfway to the door, Goldberg stopped. No one called him Bill. He half turned and looked at the Rock, now talking on his cell phone. Just nothing now. It was time to go home. And it had been a hell of a ride. 


	4. Devil's Advocate

Disclaimer: own nothing I swear. Sorry it's been so long. I love this story and I'm glad u lot do too, thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming!!  
  
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE  
  
There was this silence as he walked down the corridors. He could feel it glide with him in his wake. It was like a trail that followed him. Awe and fear all mixed into one. He'd missed it.  
  
"Paul" he breathed almost silently  
  
"Yes Undertaker?" Paul Bearer quivered from his side  
  
"I need some time alone, come and find me when the time is right"  
  
"As you wish"  
  
Paul Bearer quickly walked away, the urn clutched in both of his hands tightly. Undertaker watched him go and then turned. He trusted Paul to keep the urn safe; Paul always had been the one to trust in that matter. No one else dared to talk to him, they were all too afraid of what he could do. He'd missed that  
  
"Taker"  
  
He turned slowly and found Orlando Jordan standing there, a few respectful feet back. Undertaker raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected the rookie to have the guts to talk to him, most of the veterans didn't.  
  
"What do you want?" his voice was a quiet menacing growl  
  
"I just wanted to say....uh....well....I guess welcome back is appropriate" Orlando shrugged "its good to see you again"  
  
"Good to see me? Most men run in fear"  
  
"Yeah but they know what you can do them, how you can destroy them, I know too but that's not all I see"  
  
Undertaker took a step forward. This boy was intriguing, daring to say more than a few sparse words to the legendary Deadman after he'd risen yet again from the dead. He knew there was a reason why he'd rescued him a couple of times. There was something there he approved of.  
  
"So what do you see?"  
  
Orlando took a long look at the figure stood before him. It was a meshing of the old-school Phenom and recent American Badass. He wore black leather pants, a black singlet and a long black leather duster that flew behind him like a cape when he walked. His hair reached his shoulders in dripping black tendrils and a black wide brimmed hat shaded his black rimmed eyes. It was a fierce-some sight. But there was something different; he wasn't dead in his eyes, there was light and life in them. He had known emotions different to before when he pillaged souls remorselessly.  
  
"You've got life in your eyes" Orlando tried at last "I mean, you're in love, you have a wife, children and that shows in your eyes"  
  
"So you see that as a weakness to exploit do you?"  
  
"No! no no I wouldn't ever do that!" exclaimed Orlando "I mean.....what I meant to say.......was that you're not the same Lord of Darkness you were you know? You've changed; you're not the remorseless wrecking machine you were"  
  
Undertaker was silent, observing the solid tall young man stood in front of him.  
  
"Do you think I can't crave my path of destruction again?" he asked quietly, his hat dipped slightly so his eyes were invisible "do you think because I have a family I cannot do what I once did?"  
  
"It all depends on how you fuel your passions" Orlando replied awkwardly "I mean I think you'll still beat the shit out of anyone who gets in your way"  
  
That brought a smile to Undertaker's face.  
  
"Maybe I will" he murmured "is that what you believe you can do every time you go out there?"  
  
"Every time I go out I'm fighting the impossible" replied Orlando solemnly "I'm only a rookie, not a deadman, I'm just fighting the fight"  
  
"That's the way it should be boy, never forget that, never have a manager who's gonna betray you" Orlando was sure that Undertaker's eyes flickered down the corridor when he said that "never lose the fire otherwise you'll be done"  
  
"I never plan to lose the fire"  
  
"That's good to hear"  
  
Orlando smiled. He remembered when Undertaker saved him from a beatdown. It had been an honour; he'd seen the concern in Undertaker's eyes as he pulled him to his feet. That was when he'd known that there was more behind the Phenom that he'd originally thought. There still was. Something that combined the old mysterious spirit that seemed forever intertwined with the Devil and the new badass biker who was seen protecting his tough pretty wife and their unborn child. There was something unique there that would last forever and go on in a legacy that would remain intact when he was finally brought to dust. Everyone would remember the Undertaker  
  
"It was good to talk to you" Orlando said at last, breaking the thoughtful comfortable silence "but I have to go and train, never know when opportunity's gonna knock"  
  
"Wise words for one so young"  
  
"I learnt from the best"  
  
Undertaker extended a pale hand and after a moment, Orlando took it. Taker pulled him suddenly close, in what looked like a menacing gesture and caused Orlando to finally look into the terrifying black eyes.  
  
"They will try to squash your spirit here" he said quietly "they will try and break you to see if what you have is worth cultivating, do not break – only bend under the pressure, the spirit that you have been smart enough to identify in me is what has kept me strong and surviving all these years"  
  
Orlando nodded, letting the words sink in to analyse and understand fully later  
  
"Thank you"  
  
"Thank you boy, you have seen in me what others fear to identify – love and hate combining to form one unbreakable bond" Undertaker released his hand and smiled a rare chilling smile "I'll be calling on you again sometime, to talk things over more"  
  
"I'll look forward to it"  
  
"And I will see you around"  
  
Orlando smiled, taking this as a dismissal. He gave a quick nod and jogged away, unable to believe what a conversation he'd just had with the Undertaker – a pure legend in the business. He'd opened up to him, a rookie with no startling success to his name, merely a gift of articulate perception which the Undertaker appreciated and was impressed with enough to talk with on a friendly level. And it sounded like it was the first of many to come. Orlando was honoured. After all, he was only a rookie. What did he know? 


	5. Don't Touch Me

Disclaimer: Again I own nothing. Thanks for the reviewers, special thanks to my Fallen Angel Manda for her touching review – I love u girlie!! This chapter was conceived before the whole Kane-Lita thing came about on TV and is set on the night of the most recent brand lottery. Hope u'all enjoy it  
  
DON'T TOUCH ME  
  
The atmosphere backstage was frigid and lukewarm at the same time. Some people were pleased to have Smackdown superstars on Raw; others were furious and cold in their anger. Some just stayed quiet and watched from the cracked open locker room doors. It was a different uneasy kind of enemy, the enemy within having to become allies against former friends.  
  
Matt Hardy wasn't bothered by any of it. He had enough problems with people already on Raw. Particularly his ex-girlfriend who still passed him with scorn in the corridors. Now as he sat watching the mixed brand superstars go past in their blue and red t-shirts, he felt a pang of regret. He needed to make things right with her, before other people came in and stole her heart. Having just finished his match against Jericho and still aching all over from it, he began to walk through the corridors. He wasn't looking where he was going, he was staring at his sore hand and as a result, he banged smack into somebody coming the other way. Someone with red hair that glowed as though it was on fire and an expression that could melt a glacier.  
  
Lita  
  
"Sorry" he said quietly, staring at her with his velvet eyes  
  
"No prob.....forget it"  
  
She cut herself off when she realised who she faced and made to storm off and away from him but he caught her wrist, twisting it so that she had to stop and look at his silent face.  
  
"Get off me Matt! You're hurting me!" she squirmed against his grip "Jesus! Wasn't hurting Jericho enough for you this evening?"  
  
"I need to talk to you"  
  
"Well tough, I have nothing to say to you"  
  
"Please" his voice was still soft as he held her gaze "we may not be on the same show after tonight and I want to say what I have to say before we see each other at a party or something and it gets awkward"  
  
She looked at him silently, he hoped she saw the Hardy she fell in love with all that time ago. She pulled her wrist away again  
  
"Let me go and I'll listen" her words were passionless  
  
He nodded and released his grip. She pulled her wrist to her and rubbed around it, feeling where bruises would soon form. Matt slowly turned and opened the door next to him, knowing it would be empty. As he entered, he half turned to check if Lita was coming. He saw her a little way back, fighting some sort of inner battle as her hand rubbed her wrist comfortingly. Then she noticed him watching her and straightened her back before marching into the room. He smiled a ghost of a forgotten smile. Same old Lita, putting up that façade.  
  
Inside she sat on an empty table, arms crossed defensively over her chest and her body language taut. Her eyes were cold and her mouth a scarlet slash of disapproval. She was not going to be wooed willingly. Matt knew he had to be honest.  
  
"Thanks for giving me some time......I just want to make some sort of amend" he began  
  
She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, her stance perfectly controlled.  
  
"I'm sorry......"  
  
"Is that it? Because if it is I'm really not impressed Matthew"  
  
Her words cut into him like razor blades. She never called him Matthew, never had, not once. She wasn't going to give an inch of ground but he had to say this, no matter what poison she spat at him.  
  
"I'm sorry for all the pain, I'm sorry for breaking your heart in front of the cameras, I'm sorry for costing you all those matches, I'm sorry for ever hurting you" he babbled out "I know its pathetic and I should have said it before and now there's no way I can make it right"  
  
Silence settled between them in an uneasy uncomfortable way. Matt looked up, Lita was staring a hole in the wall. Although her mouth was clamped tight shut, her breathing was rapid and heavy in that distinct way when people are trying to contain themselves. He allowed himself to look at her body. She was more muscled and toned than before the neck surgery. She showed it off in a fitted black vest top and short army green shorts, her hair wild and barely curled as it flowed down her back. It made him ache for what he'd let go.  
  
"Have you said everything?"  
  
Her voice was sharp and curt, unblemished by any emotions. It hurt Matt to hear it  
  
"I just want you to understand that I don't want to feel this pain inside anymore, I know what I did was wrong and I don't want us to feel awkward if we bump into each other back home, you know because we do have the same friends"  
  
"The same friends? Correction Matt we had the same friends! Do you really think any of them want to see you again? You terrified and beat Shannon, you pretty much disowned Jeff after he left the business after you betrayed him to go it alone, Hurricane stands for everything you don't and as for the others who still tour the indies, I'm sure they've seen it all play out on screen and want nothing to do with you" she spoke in a cool clear voice, emotion seeping into her words "and that pain you feel inside? It's called guilt"  
  
She went to leave but Matt; desperate to make amends, grabbed her arm again. She managed to pull away from his grasp and slapped him hard across the face.  
  
"Don't touch me Matthew" she spat angrily "I've gone too far away from you to get caught again ok? How about you leave me alone?"  
  
"But I......"  
  
"You what? Want to stop feeling guilty? Then start behaving like a decent human being, you didn't make a good start tonight by reminding Jericho of Trish's betrayal"  
  
Matt winced. It was true that when he faced Jericho in the ring, he had mentioned Trish and how hard she'd slapped him down at Wrestlemania.  
  
"Never anger a man when he's down I guess" he said quietly  
  
"Oh you think?? That man has been to hell and back in the last few weeks and you want to help him out? Don't mention Trish or Christian"  
  
Her anger was hot and strong now. He took a good look at her. This anger wasn't at him; it was at Trish and Christian  
  
"Still hurts doesn't it?" he said as he leaned against the nearest wall  
  
"She was my best friend Matt" she said, anger flaming in her eyes "she knows more than anyone else the hurt I've been through, with you, Christian, Molly, everything and then she goes and throws her lot in with him, how could she?"  
  
"Maybe she thought she'd get further in the business"  
  
"By sleeping with that creepy little bastard? He's scum, no one likes him, there's no point in being with him" Lita exclaimed "and.....she knows!.....she knows what I've been though..........she knows the agony I went through trying to decide if Christian was someone for me, she knows how I felt and she's turned her back on everything, on the fans, on her friends, her best friend"  
  
"Why don't you tell her that?"  
  
"I have, she laughed and said how naïve I was to believe that she'd want to be best friends with me, that she was just using me" Lita trailed off, glaring at Matt "why the hell am I outpouring to you?"  
  
"Because once upon a time you trusted me?"  
  
"Yeah once upon a time" she muttered before seeming to shake herself out of her stupor "see you on the road"  
  
She quickly exited without a backwards glance. Matt smiled. She had confided in him. Maybe one day she'd learn to trust him again but he could assume nothing, just take it slow. Now he needed to make something else right. He needed to get a match with Christian. 


	6. I Surrender

Disclaimer: I own nothing, just my ideas  
  
I SURRENDER  
  
Just another day at the office  
  
Only it wasn't. Dawn sighed as she neatly stapled together the last of the papers together and dropped them into a cardboard file. Everything had changed since she was last at Smackdown. Paul Heyman wasn't the General Manager anymore and she wasn't his Personal Assistant so today she was tidying everything up for the new GM Kurt Angle. She didn't know what her job would be now; she had been drafted to stay at Smackdown. It had hurt her. She had an urge to be on Raw where most of the Women's Division were and the Women's Championship Belt. Where her close ECW friends were. True there were people here she would call her friends but her real ones, the one she'd been through hell and back with were on Raw. But she knew she couldn't leave Smackdown. The uncertainty of what her role would be was killing her but she was keeping it all tightly inside of her. She was a professional and was not going to be seen crying over the uncertainty. She could handle this.  
  
Suddenly a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her clean off the ground. She shrieked in part delight and part terror because she knew exactly who it was.  
  
"Put me down John" she demanded with a giggle, her mood lightening  
  
"Whatever you say m'am" he replied  
  
As he gently brought her back down to Earth, she turned to face him, taking in his bright basketball jersey and shining chains. It was always the same and yet he still gave her butterflies. He was her anchor here, the reason she didn't trade to Raw though sometimes, her resistance to it was weak. John kept her focused and fairly sane, she needed him therefore she was staying here at Smackdown. She craned up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips.  
  
"Thank you"  
  
"For what? Putting you down?"  
  
"Just....thank you"  
  
He looked at her curiously as she began to sort through the mess on the desk behind her. She was dressed in a simple dove grey dress, short skirted and low cut of course with her auburn curls tumbling around her shoulders. Yet there was something different about her demeanour, something that wasn't quite right.  
  
"Dawn, are you ok?" he asked, sitting on a corner of the desk so that he could see her face  
  
"Yeah....well I guess I am" was her distracted reply as she clipped more files together "you know excited about everything, the draft, new GM and all"  
  
There was a high-pitched tone to her voice, a slight hysteria that worried him.  
  
"You guess?"  
  
"Things are just a little hectic around here that's all"  
  
She wasn't really listening. John reached forward and firmly pulled the papers from her hands  
  
"Hey! I have to....."  
  
"Dawn" he cut in immediately "answer me, are you ok?"  
  
She sighed and sat down suddenly on the desk chair are though all the air had been sucked out of her. Suddenly everything rushed up on her.  
  
"No I guess I'm not" she murmured, running a hand through her hair "things are just so.....rushed and crazy around here at the moment, everything's so uncertain"  
  
"You should be used to that at ECW" joked John  
  
"You don't understand John, sure ECW was uncertain but we knew that Paul had a clear vision; that we were all heading for the same thing"  
  
"And now?"  
  
"Everything's a mess" she conceded miserably "Paul's gone and I really liked working for him, and I'm stuck on Smackdown with people I do care about but there's hardly anyone here from ECW and all the women wrestlers who are taken seriously on Raw and....and"  
  
"Woah woah" John was at her side, pulling her into a warm embrace "cool it sweetheart, now come on, you know you can talk to me about this, let it all out"  
  
Something broke. Her body was wracked with sobs against him as she let all of her frustration out in tears. She could feel it soaking through John's jersey. When she made an effort to pull away to tell him, he just held her tighter. In the end she gave up and surrendered to his arms. They didn't know how long they stayed like that.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with feeling sad and abandoned" said John quietly Dawn pulled away gently, her huge gentle eyes looking up at him curiously "I feel that way as well sometimes, when you know, no one's around and some of the guys are dissing me because of my rhymes and you're not around" he bowed his head a little "and I miss Benoit"  
  
"You guys were close weren't you?"  
  
"Yeah, as tight as two brothers can be" sighed John "now he's at Raw playing with the big boys and I was lottery picked to be here at Smackdown"  
  
"But it's kind of an honour"  
  
"How'd you figure?" John asked curiously  
  
Dawn pulled away fully, drying her tears on the back of hand quickly as she looked at her boyfriend  
  
"Well Brock's gone and Benoit's gone to Raw, really you and Eddie are the main-eventers here now, well I think Booker's coming here too but I mean you guys used to be mid-carders and...and....now you have the chance to really make something of it, you know?"  
  
John smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her as her eyes glittered  
  
"You miss Lance don't you?"  
  
She nodded, gathering herself before daring to speak  
  
"He's my best friend and he's on Raw" she said quietly  
  
"Do you love him?"  
  
There was a brittle quality to John's words, a tightness that told of how important this answer would be to him  
  
"Of course I do, as a friend" Dawn said gently, smiling now through her tears "he and I, we had something special which didn't have a label, he is just my best friend and you are my boyfriend, besides, Lance is in love with a girl on Raw who unfortunately has moved to Smackdown"  
  
"Miss Jackie? Wow I didn't know he was into plastic!"  
  
"John! She might be nice, Lance has excellent taste"  
  
"So I see"  
  
Dawn smiled and kissed him again.  
  
"We have each other John" she said decidedly "that's the only certainty I can see at the moment, we should be happy with that and work forwards"  
  
"Guess you're right, care to join me watching the monitors backstage? You can deal with all this junk later and then we'll find out from GM Angle what he has planned for you"  
  
"Sounds good to me"  
  
So he took her hand and led her out of the door, her tears dry again. 


End file.
